Rabbit Nesting!

[Farmboy101]

Hi, I recently breed my Holland lop rabbits and the female made a nest outside the nest box i put the nest box in a couple days early she wood take the straw/hay out and built a nest inside her little house, and then i was told by another forum website to move the nest and put it in the nest box and when i picked it up i kinda destroyed it ever since i have done that she has never went back and tried to fix it up what should i do?

 

[Bunnylady]

When is she due?

Keep an eye on her. Put some hay in the cage and see what she does with it. If she moves it to a corner other than the one the box is in, move the box there. I have sometimes pretty much stuffed the whole cage with hay, so that wherever the doe kindles, there is plenty of hay for warmth. Don't give up on her; she may get it right yet!

 

[Farmboy101]

She is due Wednesday November the 2

 

[Farmboy101]

She is new to this she is a first time mom

 

[Bunnylady]

First time moms can be utterly clueless, or they may surprise you and get everything right. Sometimes I go so far as to put the nest box in a carrier, put the doe in the carrier, and put the carrier in my hall closet. That has the risk of upsetting the doe to the point that she doesn't get anything right, but it has saved a few litters when the weather was so cold that I felt sure I would lose them if they got born outside.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Like @Bunnylady said, you can never predict how a first-time kindling is going to go - some does just don't want to use a nest box (to my chagrin), some don't pull fur...it can be a bit crazy-making. Your girl sounds like she isn't a nest box fan, so she may not kindle in one this time; that doesn't mean she'll never use one, though. Better safe than sorry: keep an eye on her and be prepared in case she kindles outside the nest box.

Good luck!

 

[Farmboy101]

ok thanks for the advice.

 

[Farmboy101]

Well what should i do if she doesn't make nest and has the baby on the wire.

 

[Bunnylady]

Put the babies and any nesting material she has gathered into the nest box. Put any fur she pulls on top.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

I've only had one doe so far that did that, and I just collected the nesting material from the wire (if there is any), put it in the nest box, and snuggled the kits into the nest box, too. Put any pulled fur on top of the kits. The doe seemed fine with the change of location and the kits were happier - and warmer! - also. Getting the kits properly covered to prevent chilling is critical.

One of the dangers of having the doe kindle on (babysaver) wire, besides kits getting chilled, is that they can be injured while crawling around. The doe I mentioned had 10 healthy kits but one somehow ended up with the nest box on top of its head and died before I discovered it. Maybe mom was picking up the nest box and moving it around in the dark...I'm not really sure how it happened, but it was a disheartening find.